The Cruelty of Tenderness

My girlfriend, Evelyn Reed, was orphaned at 15 and had relied on the supposed kindness of her stepfather's older brother to get through college. However, she never spoke about those years living under someone else's roof, always keeping that part of her past buried deep. I came from a wealthy family, and I had pursued her relentlessly from our junior year of college until graduation before finally winning her heart. Wanting to give her a fresh start and change her life for good, I gave her $500,000 to open her own studio. In just a year, her business became highly profitable. She even repaid every cent of the money I had lent her, with interest. Just when everything seemed to be falling into place, I proposed to her. "From now on, you will never have to think of yourself as an orphan again. My home is your home." She did not scream with joy or throw her arms around me. Instead, she slipped the diamond ring onto her finger through tears and whispered shakily, "You've been so good to me. I'm afraid I will never be able to repay you..." I thought she was crying tears of happiness. I thought we had finally found our happy ending. However, the very next day after accepting my proposal, she jumped from the roof of her office building and died on impact. Chapter 1 The morgue's heavy metal door swung open, and a blast of icy air hit me. Evelyn Reed lay motionless beneath a white sheet. The diamond ring I had slipped onto her left ring finger yesterday was still there. Suddenly, Braxton Cobb, the older brother of Evelyn's stepfather, stormed into the room. He yanked back the sheet, took one look at her body, then spun around and jabbed a finger in my face. "Seth! You drove Evelyn to her death! You're going to pay for it!" I shoved his hand away. "Evelyn accepted my proposal yesterday. Why would I ever want her dead?" Braxton let out a scornful laugh. Behind him, his daughter, Macy Cobb, shrieked, "Oh, don't play dumb! My dad put that ungrateful brat through college! She finally started making some real money, and yesterday, she transferred every last cent in her account to you! "Then she jumped off a building today! You stole her money and killed her to cover your tracks! You gold-digging murderer! Give the money back!" I stared at Macy. "I gave her the 500,000 dollars she needed to start her studio. She transferred 600,000 thousand dollars into my account, and she clearly labeled it as repayment for the startup money I lent her. "She earned every penny the studio made. It was her business, and she'd every right to decide what to do with her money. Even if I refused to take a cent, that wouldn't make it yours!" Braxton stepped up to me and grabbed me by the collar. "That's a lie! She was 15 when she became an orphan. She ate my food and lived under my roof for years! Our family gave her everything, including her life!" "She was the legal owner of the studio. Now that she's dead, the inheritance rightfully belongs to me as her uncle! You're handing over that 600,000 dollars, along with every official company seal the studio owns!" I tore myself out of his grip and snapped, "She just died, and all you people can think about is money?" Macy stepped forward and reached for the diamond ring on Evelyn's finger. "That ring was bought with money from the studio, too! Hand it over!" I slapped her hand away. She let out a piercing scream. "He hit me! Somebody help! This disgusting man murdered his girlfriend and is trying to steal her inheritance!" The doctor on duty rushed over to break up the fight. "This is a morgue! If you want to argue, take it outside!" Braxton pointed at Evelyn and snarled, "If you don't hand over those company seals today, nobody's letting her rest in peace! I'll make sure she never gets buried. Let her rot right here!" I looked at Evelyn's colorless face, and pain twisted through my chest like a knife. My mind drifted back to last night, when I had proposed. She had slipped on the ring, tears streaming down her cheeks, and whispered that she was afraid she could never repay me for everything I had done for her. I had thought she was overwhelmed with happiness. We had been dating for two years, yet every time we held hands, her whole body trembled violently. The first time I kissed her, she shoved me away and ran to the bathroom, where she threw up for two hours straight. As our relationship grew closer, things never got easier. Whenever we were intimate, she would lie there with her eyes squeezed shut, biting her lower lip until it bled. Tears soaked her pillow as if she were enduring some terrible torture. Whenever I stopped and asked what was wrong, she would only clutch the blanket and tremble. She insisted there was something wrong with her health. Then she would wrap her arms tightly around me and apologize over and over again. I knew she loved me. It broke my heart to see her suffer, so I never pressured her again. I thought she was simply shy and guarded, that time would heal whatever troubled her. Yet the day after she accepted my proposal, she jumped to her death. Braxton pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "Take a good look! This is a promissory note signed by Evelyn herself! She owed me three million dollars in living expenses! If you can't pay up today, I'll make sure she doesn't get a moment's peace, even in death!" I stared at the note. The handwriting was crooked and uneven, and several dark stains marked the edges of the paper. They looked disturbingly like dried blood. Evelyn had only just turned 18 five years ago. How could she possibly have owed him three million dollars? What were those bloodstains? "You want money?" I grabbed Braxton by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Then show me an itemized breakdown of this so-called debt!" Instead of looking frightened, Braxton broke into a sinister grin. "Fine! Let's head to her studio right now and see how many other debts she's been hiding from you! I'd love to see how long a spoiled rich kid like you can keep protecting that little slut!" Chapter 2 I picked up the promissory note. Braxton sneered at me, "It's right there in black and white. You can't just pretend the debt doesn't exist! "When her stepfather died, he left behind a mountain of debt. I was the one who dealt with the debt collectors. I gave her food and a place to live, and I paid for her education. She promised she'd pay me back once she started working. "Now she's dead, and you were her fiancé. That makes the debt your responsibility!" Evelyn's biological father had died of an illness when she was ten. When she was thirteen, her mother remarried and took her to live with her stepfather. Two years later, her mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident. The Cobb family had always told people that Evelyn survived because her stepfather's older brother, a man who was not related to her by blood, had generously supported her after she became an orphan. However, I was the only one who knew that his so-called generosity had never come from the goodness of his heart. I looked Braxton straight in the eye. "Evelyn worked her way through all four years of college. She tutored students in three different households every day. In the dead of winter, her hands were covered in painful chilblains. "She paid for even the cheapest bread with money she earned herself." Braxton's expression flickered, but he quickly recovered and shouted, "Without my help, she would've starved to death! "Enough excuses! Hand over the 600,000 dollars and the studio's bank accounts, or I'll sue you for misappropriating a dead woman's assets!" I clenched my fists. "The studio was Evelyn's life's work. I won't let you lay a finger on it." Macy pulled out her phone, opened a video, and waved it in my face. "Everybody, look! A rich kid is trying to steal an orphan's inheritance! "He drove his own girlfriend to jump off a building, and now he won't even admit what he did!" Soon, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered in the hallway. Macy wiped away tears as she shouted, "My dad sacrificed everything to raise her. He even neglected his own daughter because of her! "Then she got into college, hooked up with a rich guy, and turned her back on the very people who raised her! "Now that she's dead, this rich brat wants to steal the studio she left behind! "Where's the justice in that?" Whispers spread through the crowd as people pointed at me. "He looks like a decent guy. Who knew he'd stoop so low as to steal from a dead woman?" "That poor girl. She must have been pushed to the edge to jump like that." Even a few of the cleaning staff shook their heads and sighed. My chest felt so tight I thought it might explode. While she was alive, Evelyn had worked herself to the bone. After opening her studio, she practically lived at the office, sleeping no more than four hours a night. She kept meticulous records of every transaction and knew exactly where every dollar went. Last month, she transferred 600,000 dollars into my account. By the time she handed me the bank statement, she had grown so thin that she looked like little more than skin and bones. I had told her from the beginning that the 500,000 dollars I gave her to start the business was a gift. I had never expected her to pay me back, and I did not want her to feel indebted to me. That day, she had wrapped her arms tightly around me and said, "Seth, I've paid you back. I didn't take your money for nothing. I just want you to promise you won't hate me someday." How could I ever hate the woman I loved? At the time, I had assumed her pride simply would not let her accept my help without paying me back. However, now, staring at that three-million-dollar promissory note, I suddenly realized that Evelyn had been trapped in a cycle of exploitation from the very beginning. She had worked herself nearly to death, and every dollar she earned might have gone straight into Braxton's bottomless pit. I turned an icy stare on him. "A three-million-dollar promissory note? She just turned 18 five years ago. You're telling me she owed you three million dollars as soon as she started college? Where are the bank transfers? Where's the loan agreement? "Without any supporting evidence, this piece of paper is worthless." Braxton's eyes darted away. A moment later, his expression twisted with rage. "So what if I don't have the paperwork? That's her real signature! If you don't pay up today, I'll smash that studio to pieces! "And I'll show up at your company and raise hell! I'll make sure everyone knows that Seth is a filthy animal who drove his own girlfriend to her death!" Chapter 3 After Braxton left the morgue, he really did take several relatives straight to Evelyn's studio. While I was on my way there, I received a frantic call from Patrick Granger, one of the employees. He told me that members of the Cobb family were trashing the place. I called the police immediately. By the time I arrived, the office door had been smashed open, and papers were scattered across the floor. Black shoeprints covered Evelyn's design sketches, and several young employees were huddled in a corner, crying. Macy was sitting in Evelyn's office chair, rummaging through her desk drawers. Personal belongings had been tossed onto the floor. Her diary, jewelry box, and bottles of stomach medication lay scattered everywhere. I rushed over, grabbed Macy by the arm, and yanked her out of the chair. She screamed, "He's attacking me!" Braxton charged out of the next room, clutching an iron bar. "How dare you touch my daughter?! I'll break every bone in your body!" He swung the bar at my shoulder. I threw up my arm to block it, and the metal slammed into my forearm instead. Pain shot through my entire body, and the employees behind me cried out in alarm. "Mr. Jenkins!" I gritted my teeth and kicked Braxton in the stomach. He stumbled backward into a bookshelf, sending folders crashing to the floor. Clutching his stomach and gasping for breath, Braxton pointed at me and cursed. "You bastard! You're finished! That's assault! I'm calling the police and having you arrested!" I rubbed my numb forearm. "You've vandalized Evelyn's business and attempted to extort money from me. I'm the one who should be calling the police." Macy was holding an old black phone that Evelyn had used back in college. Just then, two uniformed officers who had responded to the call hurried through the door. "Who called the police? What's going on here?" The moment Braxton heard them, he tossed the iron bar aside and kicked it under the sofa. In an instant, his expression changed. He suddenly looked like a harmless, grief-stricken man who had been terribly wronged. "Officers, there's been a misunderstanding. This is a family matter." He sighed, clutching his stomach where I had kicked him, then pointed an accusing finger at me. "This guy was dating my late niece. She just jumped off a building, and now he's trying to steal the business she left behind! We couldn't stand by and watch him get away with it, so we'd a little disagreement." Seeing her father's performance, Macy put on a wounded expression and dabbed at her eyes. She pulled out the old black phone, opened a message thread, and showed it to the officers. "Officers, you've to help us! This man isn't just trying to steal her money. He's covering up for my shameless cousin!" She held the screen up for the officers to see. "These are messages Evelyn sent my dad before she died! Look! She wrote, 'Uncle, I'm coming to your room tonight.'" Macy raised her voice so everyone in the office could hear her. "She was an ungrateful little tramp who tried to seduce the very man who raised her! She jumped because she knew she'd been caught!" The office fell completely silent. The employees stared in shock, and the officers frowned. Braxton straightened his clothes and put on an expression of deep sorrow. "Some things should never have been made public. I took her in because I felt sorry for a helpless orphan. Who knew she'd turn out to be so shameless at such a young age? She was always running into my room in her pajamas! I kept quiet because I didn't want to tear my family apart. "Then, as soon as she got into college, I made her move out. And even after that, she wouldn't leave me alone. She kept sending me those disgusting, inappropriate messages! "I lent her three million dollars just to help her get away from our family! I never imagined she'd team up with this guy to dodge her debt. The Cobb family is completely in the right here!" My vision blurred with rage. Evelyn had tried to seduce him? She stiffened whenever I so much as touched her. After showering, she always wrapped herself up from head to toe. Even in the middle of summer, she wore long sleeves and pants. How could she possibly have tried to seduce Braxton, a man old enough to be her father? I lunged forward to snatch the phone, but Braxton raised the iron bar and swung it at my head. I jerked sideways, but the iron bar still grazed my forehead. Blood immediately streamed down my face, blurring my vision until everything seemed to turn red. The officers rushed forward and subdued Braxton. "Stop! Drop the weapon!" Even with his face pressed against the floor, Braxton continued shouting, "Officers! I have proof on that phone! Evelyn was the one who tried to seduce me first! Seth is obviously covering for that slut!" I glared at Braxton. "Hand over the phone." Macy hid it behind her back and lifted her chin defiantly. "Why should I give it to you? The Cobb family bought that phone for her years ago! She owed our family a fortune. Everything she owned should go toward paying off her debt!" One of the officers stepped forward and barked, "Hand over the phone! It's important evidence in an ongoing investigation!" Macy realized she was losing control of the situation. In a sudden panic, she raised the phone high above her head, ready to smash it against the floor. Chapter 4 My heart lurched, but thankfully, one of the officers reacted quickly, grabbing Macy's wrist and wrenching the old phone from her grasp before sealing it in an evidence bag. Even with her arm twisted behind her back, Macy continued struggling and screaming, "It's right there in black and white! She owed my dad three million dollars! The Cobb family gave her everything, even her life! "You're not even married to her! What right do you have to interfere? You're not family. You have no say in any of this!" Braxton scrambled to his feet and straightened his torn collar. An icy smile tugged at his lips. "Her father is dead, and so is her mother. I've been the one supporting her all these years. I have a debt settlement agreement signed in her own handwriting! Her studio, her money, everything she owned belongs to me now! "Keep getting in my way and I'll make sure the entire Jenkins family is disgraced in Nexus City!" Patrick could not take it anymore. He rushed forward and shouted, "You're lying through your teeth! Not once did you show any concern for Ms. Reed when she was alive! Every time you came around, all you did was demand money! "Last month, Ms. Reed collapsed right here in the office and called you for help. Macy told her over the phone, 'If you're not dead yet, stop calling me and bothering me!' "Now that Ms. Reed has jumped to her death, you show up to steal everything she owned! How can you live with yourselves?" Macy raised her hand to slap Patrick, but an officer caught her arm before she could strike him. "That's enough! Everyone calm down!" The officer's sharp command silenced the room. Braxton remained unfazed. He pulled a document from inside his jacket and slapped it onto the desk. "This is the equity-holding and debt settlement agreement Evelyn and I signed years ago. "It clearly states that if she fails to repay the three million dollars she owes me, all the assets belonging to her studio automatically become the property of the Cobb family as repayment. "I had a lawyer witness the agreement. This is a legitimate financial dispute. You police officers have no business interfering with a lawful transfer of assets, do you? No one is stopping me from taking over this place today!" Braxton took out a pen and prepared to sign an additional document. The moment he signed it, all the studio's assets would be frozen and transferred out of reach. I clutched my injured arm, feeling as though all the blood in my body was flowing backward. What had Evelyn gone through while she was alive? Why was there a promissory note? Why was there an equity transfer agreement? Why were there so many desperate, pleading messages? How many secrets had she kept from me? What had she been thinking at the exact moment she stepped off that rooftop? Braxton's pen touched the paper, and a greedy smile spread across his face. "Once I sign this, the whole place is mine. "That little bitch Evelyn finally did something useful before she died!" Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Three detectives pushed through the door. One carried a brown paper evidence envelope and a set of official documents. "Who's Braxton Cobb? We're with the Major Crimes Division of the Nexus City Police Department." Braxton frowned. "Officers, there's no need to rush. We're in the middle of settling an inheritance matter." The lead detective walked right past Braxton and came straight toward me. "Are you Mr. Jenkins?" I wiped the blood from my face. "Yes." The detective nodded. Then, he turned toward Braxton, his expression icy, and pulled out an arrest warrant and a search warrant. "Braxton Cobb, early this morning, the department received a scheduled, encrypted email from the victim through the police chief's tip line. It contains conclusive evidence of your crimes. We were preparing to launch a citywide search for you when the local precinct reported that you were causing trouble here." The air seemed to freeze. Braxton's lips trembled, and he staggered backward. "T-That's nonsense! That little bitch framed me! I'm her uncle! I supported her for eight years!" Two detectives immediately stepped forward and snapped handcuffs around his wrists. Macy screamed in terror, "You can't arrest my dad! Evelyn was crazy! She jumped off the building and killed herself! She's dead, and she's still trying to drag us down with her!" The detective shot Macy a harsh look. "Macy Cobb, you're also suspected of aiding and abetting extortion and unlawfully distributing someone else's private information. You're coming with us." Another detective stepped forward and handcuffed her as well. The lead detective turned back to me. Sympathy and sorrow filled his eyes. "Mr. Jenkins, we received a complete criminal complaint from Evelyn through the police chief's tip line. During our examination of her personal computer, we also discovered an encrypted folder. "It was named after you. The password hint was your birthday. We believe she left a video specifically for you." The detective handed me a tablet, and my hands trembled so badly that I could barely hold it steady. When the screen lit up, I entered my birthday as the password, and Evelyn's face appeared before me. The video had been recorded the night before she jumped. The background showed her rented apartment. She wore a clean white blouse, and her hair was neatly brushed. A silk scarf was wrapped tightly around her neck, concealing whatever lay beneath it. She looked painfully thin as she sat in front of the camera, her eyes red and swollen. She stared into the lens and forced a faint, trembling smile. "Seth, by the time you see this, I'll already be gone. I'm sorry. I lied to you. I've been lying to you for two whole years." Her voice was hoarse and unsteady. Tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.